Hany Mukhtar Hat Trick, Two Free-Kick Goals Lift Nashville SC Past LAFC 3-2

LAFC took 21 shots at GEODIS Park on Sunday night. Hany Mukhtar needed four to beat them.

The Nashville SC captain scored a hat trick, two of the goals coming straight from free kicks, and Nashville held off a relentless second-half push to beat LAFC 3-2. The win, Nashville's seventh straight league match without a loss according to the club, sent the Boys in Gold to the top of the Supporters' Shield standings. LAFC left Tennessee with a third straight defeat.

Mukhtar Takes Over Early

LAFC actually started like the better team. Mathieu Choinière, Son Heung-Min and David Martínez all got looks inside the first 10 minutes, and Brian Schwake had to make two saves before Nashville settled.

Then Mukhtar went to work. In the 13th minute he played a give-and-go with Warren Madrigal and finished with his right foot from the middle of the box. Eight minutes later he was standing over a free kick, and he curled it into the top left corner for 2-0. It came two minutes after Ryan Porteous was whistled for fouling Madrigal in Nashville's attacking half, and it was, per the club, Mukhtar's 100th goal for Nashville across all competitions.

LAFC's answer took about a minute. Denis Bouanga crossed and Martínez finished from point-blank range to make it 2-1 in the 22nd minute. From there, the visitors poured forward. Schwake saved from Martínez in the 25th, from Bouanga in the 26th and from Timothy Tillman, at close range, in the 30th. Nashville reached halftime still ahead, mostly because its goalkeeper refused to blink.

Free Kick, Part Two

The second half followed the same script, only louder. Bouanga sent a shot just over the bar off a corner in the 51st minute, and LAFC kept piling up set pieces. Then Porteous fouled Madrigal again in the 57th minute and was booked for it. Two minutes later, Mukhtar stepped up and bent another free kick, this one into the top right corner, for 3-1 and the hat trick.

LAFC still did not go away. In the 67th minute, Son delivered a corner and Bouanga finished from the left side of the six-yard box for 3-2. Over the next seven minutes the visitors won four more corners, Porteous had a shot blocked and headed another wide, Son forced Schwake into another save and Bouanga had a shot blocked. Ryan Hollingshead's late effort in the 89th was saved too. Six minutes of stoppage time produced one more LAFC corner and a Jude Terry shot that missed. Nashville survived.

The Captain and the Keeper

Hany Mukhtar turned four shots, three of them on target, into three goals. MLSsoccer.com reported that he became just the seventh player in MLS history to score five regular-season hat tricks, and the first to score two direct free-kick goals in the same game since former FC Cincinnati standout Luca Orellano in August 2024. The club says his goal total for Nashville now sits at 101 across all competitions.

His coach, B.J. Callaghan, did not hold back. "It was a captain's performance and a DP performance," Callaghan said, per MLSsoccer.com. "I guess he didn't want to stop at 100 because he blew right past it."

Mukhtar, for his part, said the milestone was not on his radar. "To be honest, I hadn't really thought about having 100 goals or not. That was not in my mind," he said.

Brian Schwake was nearly as important. His seven saves were an MLS career high, per the club, and several came during LAFC's best spells.

Warren Madrigal assisted the opener and drew both fouls that preceded Mukhtar's free-kick goals. The club said he now has goal contributions in three straight matches.

For LAFC, Denis Bouanga had a goal, an assist and five shots, David Martínez put all three of his attempts on target, and Son Heung-Min set up the second goal and finished with four shots.

Where It Was Won

Nashville's second free kick was the decisive blow. LAFC had started the second half on the front foot and was pushing for an equalizer. Porteous' foul handed Mukhtar a dead ball in range, and he punished it immediately. Bouanga's goal eight minutes later means the margin of victory was, quite literally, that free kick.

The Numbers That Tell It

• Shots: LAFC 21, Nashville 7. On target: LAFC 9, Nashville 4.
• Corners: LAFC 11, Nashville 3.
• Saves: Schwake 7, Thomas Hasal 1.
• Tackles: Nashville 19 (15 effective), LAFC 8.
• Possession: Nashville 52.5 percent, LAFC 47.5 percent.

Top of the Table

Nashville improves to 9-3-1 with 30 points and, according to MLSsoccer.com, moved into first place in the Supporters' Shield standings. The club noted it is the only team still unbeaten at home through Matchday 14, and it said Nashville has outscored opponents 21-8 at GEODIS Park in league play this season.

Mukhtar credited the depth of a roster that, per MLSsoccer.com, was missing Sam Surridge, Patrick Yazbek, Eddi Tagseth and Andy Nájar. "We never find excuses. We have injuries. The next guy steps up, and the next guy does sometimes even better than the guy before," he said.

LAFC drops to 6-3-5 with 21 points. The three-game skid began with a 4-1 home loss to Houston Dynamo FC on May 10 and continued with a 2-1 defeat at St. Louis CITY SC on May 13. LAFC hosts the Seattle Sounders on May 24 in its final match before the World Cup break, while Nashville hosts New York City FC on May 23 before the pause.

Not Shying Away

There is a version of this game LAFC wins comfortably. It had the shots and the corners. But Nashville has a captain who turns dead balls into highlight reels, and a goalkeeper who just had the night of his career. Mukhtar is not downplaying where that leaves Nashville. "We are not shying away from, you know, being on top in the league," he said. Right now, nobody is arguing.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com; match notes from Nashville SC (nashvillesc.com) and LAFC (lafc.com).